Project Maddy
by Ninessecret
Summary: Maddy, a major character in Nine's Secret, has been recruited by the Mogadorians to find Number Nine. Her family's lives dependent on her mission's success, what happens when Maddy realizes that she doesn't want to surrender Nine to the Mogs?
1. Chapter 1

**Привет, all! (That was Russian F.Y.I.) Welcome to my new story, titled Project Maddy. This story focuses on Maddy; a major character in Nine's Legacy. You don't need to read Nine's Legacy to understand this, it only contains slight spoilers. My story does not follow Nine's Legacy! However, if you do want some background on Maddy (from Nine's Legacy);**

 **-Maddy is a 15-16-year-old girl who lived in Chicago around the same time as Nine and Sandor**

 **-Maddy's family was taken by the Mogs, after her father, a researcher (I presume NASA) "saw something he shouldn't have" (Something related to Mog civilization)**

 **-In result of this Maddy was told that if she helped find Nine her family would be freed, instead Maddy and her family were killed**

 **-Maddy and Nine were close and it was revealed that she did actually like him**

 **So, enjoy. I should be able to update weekly.**

 **Review, follow and favorite,**

 **Nine's Secret**

 **Chapter One-A New Life**

 **Maddy P.O.V.**

My eyes are blurred with unshed tears that I blink away the second they form. Standing across from me is the only family I have ever know, it breaks my heart to see them reduced to this; my father's intelligent eyes are filled with fear as he stares at the tall Mogs flanking me. Next to him, my mother looks at me with hope, she nods at me, a small smile upturning the corners of her lips. She believes in me. My brother, Alex, is on my Mom's side. He looks at me with confusion, he's only eight. Too young to have to go through this. The Mog next to me scans my face for any trace of emotion, I lift my chin and force my gold-brown eyes to become hard and impassive. If I look at my family as if they are anything other than expendable around these monsters, the Mogs will kill them, because in the Mogs eyes my family is expendable. They are a pawn to get me to cooperate, the Mogs don't care one wit about them and I know that.

I turn my head and nod at the woman to my left, her name is Susannah, she's taken care of me ever since we got that awful letter in the mail from the Mogs telling us their harsh demands and conditions if we wanted to live. I turn my head as my family is lead away from me, I walk away from them because I can't watch as they are dragged away into some dark, underground hole. As I turn away, I feel the Mog's cold eyes leave me. I have passed their first test.

Susannah follows me, we walk to an unmarked black jeep that Susannah had told me would be there. I open the door to the passenger seat and step in. The second both doors close, Susannah looks at me. Her gray eyes scan me, I resist the temptation to look at her eyes. I will see motherly pity and I don't want that. Susannah sighs and turns away starting the car.

"If it makes you feel any better, I promise things will get better. Tomorrow you start school, the day after you start Soccer. The day after you will have your first art class. Soon you'll have a routine and it will all be a part of your life."

I look at her, a smile tugging at my lips, "You enrolled me in Soccer and an Art class?" I've played Soccer since I was three, on my old team in Ohio I was captain of my travel team. And Art has always been a passion of mine, I never knew Susannah knew that.

"Yes, I was able to negotiate it with the commander. So long as you keep your grades up and do a _couple_ of required classes," Susannah said that word quickly, "He had no problem with it. I told him it would take your mind off your assignment and help you stay relaxed, this job can be… stressful."

I snort, "Stressful. I'm approving a sixteen-year-old boy for extermination so that your people won't kill my family. That's a mild way to put it!" I close my eyes, knowing that I shouldn't have said that. It's Susannah's choice to help me, she doesn't have to. And with one word from her, I'm dead. "I'm sorry,"I say, meekly.

Susannah's face hardens as she looks at me,"I know it's hard, but it's all necessary. My people aren't monsters, they're just... slow to trust." She speaks slowly as if choosing her words carefully.

I furrow my brow, "But, why? Why do you hunt them? They're reduced to fourteen, what can they do?" I ask slowly, trying to understand without severing my family's slim chance at survival.

Susannah's gray eyes soften, "No one ever told you, did they?"

I shake my head.

"The Loric have powers, Legacies, they call them. One unsuspecting teenager might have a Legacy to throw fire or summon the wind, these were only discovered about a century ago. Before that Lorien and Mogadore had a strong treaty and both nations needed each other to survive; the Loric were blessed with rare Loralite crystals, one the size of my thumb may have the power to repair a decade of pollution caused by factories. Lorien traded several Loralite crystals for our superior weaponry. Our relationship was peaceful for millennia and we survived off each other. Then, a century ago, Legacies began to develop in the Loric. With those new Legacies, the Loric were able to create weapons far superior to ours. Worse yet, they could create Loralite crystals larger and stronger than anything we had ever seen. They cut ties with Mogadore, leaving our Planet dying from the factories we had only built to create weapons they no longer needed." Susannah paused to turn onto a street filled with identical houses, "We tried to form treaties by they refused. Leaving us with only one option, attack. And we did. We hunt them because their Legacies are dangerous and they cannot be trusted with them. The Legacies can be used to control your people and we can't have that." She looks at me waiting for a reply.

I furrow my brow, "They saw your people die and they did nothing?"

She nodded, "Now do you understand."

"Yes," I say. The Mogs are reasonable people, once I help them catch the rest of the Loric, they'll have to let my family go. They would be hypocrites not to.

She turns into the driveway of a medium sized brick house. she presses a button on the roof and the gray garage door opens. She pulls the Jeep in and parks, yet she doesn't unlock the door.

"Maddy, you're a smart girl, and although I'm guessing you already know this I'm going to explicitly tell you; my people have the best intentions and are only trying to do the right thing. However, questions and statements such as the one you just expressed to me will not be welcome. I happen to think of you highly and admire your bravery. However, other's will be wary of you and be looking for an excuse for you to fall." Her gray eyes meet mine, "We don't trust easily. But know, when you prove yourself to the others, they will be the most loyal allies you will ever have."

I don't smile, instead, I seriously stick out my hand, "I understand this, Susannah. Know that you will not regret trusting me."

She shakes my hand, a smile on her lips. I extend my hand to the car handle and flip the lock. There's a click as the door is unlocked, I pull the handle and step out of the car, walking over to what I presume is the door leading inside.

Susannah smiles and follows me, grabbing a key from her back pocket. She opens the white wooden door and leads me inside.

"You can leave your shoes on," Susannah says, the seriousness of our past conversation gone. She talks to be as if that was her tone the whole time. It strikes me as odd. Then it hits me, _cameras_. I mouth that word to her, she nods.

I casually scan the room, pretending to be stretching looking for the cameras. _There!_ In the corner! It focuses as I look at it. Unnerved, I turn away from the camera and walk over to Susannah.

"So, you said you had kids," I say calmly, impressed with how my voice doesn't even shake.

Susannah nods and leads me to a hallway about ten yards from the door leading to the garage, "Yes, two. Adam and Kelly, you'll like them a lot."

I grin as we turn and she opens another door, this one leads upstairs. "How old are they?" I ask, nonchalantly scanning the stairs for cameras.

"Adam's seventeen and Kelly is ten. She's really excited to have an older sister." Susannah says.

I smile, _older sister._ _Odd title for Loric bait._ "Do they know?"

Susannah sighs, "Adam does. But Kelly thinks that you're here to," She pauses, sighing, "Marry Adam."

It takes everything inside me not to choke and cough. "Oh," I say. My face is bright red.

"It was for your security." She says emotionlessly.

Susannah leads me up the rest of the stairs, without a word. I follow her, Distracting myself by staring at the five closed doors surrounding a lounge. The lounge has a T.V., couch and several beanbags. It looks homey. but not lived in.

"We just moved from D.C. so we're not fully moved in yet. However, your room is right there," She points at the closed door closest to me, "Adam or Kelly will have the room next to you. It's a Jack and Jill Suite, so you'll be sharing a bathroom with one of them. The room closest to the lounge is the bathroom, and next to that is the Commander and my room. To the right of that is the room that whoever doesn't have the Jack and Jill with you will have."

She leads me into the room which I was told was mine, I gasp as I walk in. The room is beautiful; a large queen sized bed, dressed in pale gray and gold sheets, stands against the wall to the right of the door. In the day, two windows that are on each side of the bed will provide natural light. On the wall across from the bed is a white dresser, bean bag, and desk. On top of the desk, I recognize my old laptop. They said I wouldn't be allowed to keep it.

I point at it, shock on my face. Susannah nods, she puts a finger to her lips, "Shhh."

I smile, "Thanks, I really-"

My voice is cut off by the sound of feet running up the stairs, "Ha ha! Take that, Adam! I beat you, you..." A female voice says, it pauses, thinking of an insult. It must be Kelly.

Susannah "Kelly! I'd think hard about finishing that sentence!"

She walks out of my room, she stops at the doorway and nods at me to follow. I grin and follow her.

In the hallway, I see a girl-Kelly, turned away from me looking down the stairs at who the presume is Adam. She sticks her tongue out.

Susannah sighs, "Well, this should be a great first impression for our guest." Her tone is biting, "Adam, Kelly. Up. Here. Now."

Kelly turns around, and I see her for the first time. She looks like a tiny copy of Susannah with her dark hair and gray eyes. She looks me over and smiles.

"Oooooh, Adam! You're girlfriend's here!" I laugh, that's so something Alex would say.

The boy on the stairs slowly walks up, he groans, "Kelly!"

I smile and wait for him to come into view, he walks up the final stairs and _woah..._ I drink in the sight of him. He's beautiful, with black hair cropped in a military style, his gentle brown eyes also scan me, his mouth is slightly open, revealing pearly white teeth, he's pale, but not as pale as Susannah and Kelly. A white shirt and black workout pants hang on his lean body. He's just _wow._ _I wouldn't mind being pretend married to him._

He looks equally in shock as to seeing me, I extend my hand, he extends his. Our hands connect and we shake.

"I'm Maddy." I say, lamely, lost in his brown eyes.

"Adam." He replies.

There's a moment of silence, then an "And I'm grossed out." from Kelly.

We break eye contact and I turn to Kelly, my face a mask of practiced confident.

"I'm sorry, Kelly. That was rude of me, I'm Maddy." I say, walking over to her. _I'm not here for guys, I'm here for my family._ I repeat the motto in my head as I shake her hand. I speak to her as an equal, because that's the only way to earn her trust.

"Ahh, yes, the big 'sister'." She says with the tone of someone four times her age.

"You're only ten?" I ask with a smile.

"And a half." She says. I think I'm gonna like her.

Susannah glares at Kelly, "Be nice." She hisses through clenched teeth.

"It's ok." I say, "It's a big adjustment for her to make." I say, then realize the irony of the whole situation.

Kelly turns away from me and looks at Adam, "I made it up those stairs first so I get to choose my room. Hmmm," She looks at me then looks at Adam, "I'll take the one by the lounge." She turns to me and winks.

Susannah groans, "Kelly. Why don't you unpack? I think you've traumatized our guest enough for one day, don't you?"

Kelly smiles at me, then walks down the stairs.

Susannah waits for the sound of a door closing downstairs to speak, "I'm sorry about her." She says to both of us, "Why don't you guys compare school schedules and get to know each other in Maddy's room?"

She walks into her room and grabs two sheets of paper, she hands one to me and one to Adam. We walk into my new room, eyes buried on our school schedules.

We walk into my room, Susannah closes the door behind us. I sit on my new bed, the duvet cover, soft beneath me. Adam sits on the beanbag. I feel his eyes on me, I look up from my schedule.

"Your mom's ok with two teenagers in a room with closed doors?" I ask, breaking the silence.

Adam sighs, "Not normally, but I think she knows that we're not going to rip each other's clothes off the first chance we get, given the," He pauses, staring at me, " _circumstances._ "

I nod, "So, what are we? Friends? Acquaintances? Or something else?" I say the last one with deliberate purpose.

Adam squirms in the beanbag, he looks down at his schedule, "What do you have first?" He asks, changing the subject.

I glance down, "Calculus."

Adam stands up and sits down next to me, he looks at my schedule, "Damn, girl. Calculus as a sophomore. AP French. Why?"

"Je ne sais pas." I reply in French, Adam gives me a blank look, "I don't know. I guess school comes easy to me and it serves as a _distraction._ "

Adam nods, he looks down, "We have Calculus, AP Comparative Government and Politics and English together."

I nod, "And you're a...?"

"Senior." He says.

 _Oh, two years older, I've always liked older guys._ I scold my brain. _I can't think like that!_

"Will the target be in my classes?" I ask, trying to make conversation.

Adam shrugs, brown eyes on mine, "Probably not. We think he's homeschooled."

"Think? How much do you know about this person?"

Adam rolls his eyes, "I probably shouldn't say this; but not much. All of our scouts have _disappeared._ He's probably nothing, but we're hoping you'll have more luck than we did."

That's reassuring, I could _disappear._

"So how am I supposed to find him?" I ask.

Adam furrows his brow, "Didn't my mom tell you?" I shake my head, "We have reports that he's going to some YMCA. So your after school job will be looking for someone matching our _limited_ description at one of Chicago's _many_ Y's. Enjoy."

Was that a challenge in his voice?

"Is that a challenge, Adam?" I ask with a smile.

Adam tilts his head to the side, "Yeah. You won't be able to find him in a month."

 _Oh, Adam. You clearly underestimated how bad I want this._

"And if I do?"

Adam looks me in the eye, "I'll do _anything_ you want for a week."

I lick my lips. _Not here for guys. Not here for guys._

"And if I lose?"

Adam smirks, "You have to take Kelly and her friend Lisa to the Justin Bieber concert next month."

"Eww," I say.

Adam looks at me, his eyebrow raised, waiting to see if I'll take the deal.

"I'll take that bet," I reply with confidence. "Hope you like Bieber, Adam."

Adam smiles at me, "We'll see."

He stands up and walks over to our connected bathroom, he closes the door that leads to his room. The door closes. Leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Let's see, I got a little sister who thinks I'm only here to marry her brother. I have a crush on her brother. I have a limited description of the man who I need to find to save my family. And oh, yeah, I just made a bet on how fast I can find that target.

 _Huh, not a bad first day._

I smile, sinking back onto my new bed, in my new house, in my new life, and closing my eyes.

 **Thoughts? I loved writing this story so much! Maddy is such a fun character to write about! She's so freaking badass and awesome! I hope to be able to update soon and although I do plan on continuing, I don't think the next chapter will be up before next Thursday or Friday. However! If you love this story as much as I loved writing it a review could _possibly (hint, hint)_** **pursue me to write faster. Just sayin'. Also pairing ideas? Nine and Maddy or Maddy and Adam? I haven't thought too much about that yet... Tell me in a review.**

 **Review, Follow, Favorite,**

 **Nine's Secret**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer-I do not own Lorien Legacies**

 **Comme allez-vous? (French F.Y.I.) Thank you Writingnerd291 and LorienLover7896 for reviewing. Anyway, here, in all of its glory, is Chapter 2 of Project Maddy. Remember to review!**

 **Review, Follow, Favorite,**

 **Nine's Secret**

 **Chapter Two-First Sight**

 **Maddy P.O.V.**

One month later

A fist bangs on the bathroom door, follow by a "Come on, Kelly! You've been in there for hours!" from Adam.

I sigh, turning back to the mirror. I have one more day until I lose the bet to Adam, and although I hate going to these lengths, I really don't have any other options. The girl in the mirror looks like a slut, no, slut's don't get arrested for public indecency. She's wearing a tight, dark blue tank top and gray Hollister 'shorts' that would nearly qualify as underwear for most people. Her long brown hair is tied up in a high ponytail. Her large gold-brown eyes betray nothing as she scans her reflection for a flaw, she doesn't smile but looks happy with what she sees. I turn away from the mirror, so does she.

I open the door, "Sorry, Adam," I say, head down, walking fast past him. _Please don't ask questions, please don't ask questions._

A hand reaches out and blocks my path of escape, Adam's larger hand pushes my chin up. My eyes meet his. A look of shock and disbelief on his handsome face.

"What the _hell_ are you wearing?" He asks, eyes running up and down my body.

My cheeks redden, "Clothes," I say, my tone measured.

Adam's eyes meet mine, he snorts, "No, let me ask you again; what the _fuck_ are you wearing?"

The sound of feet on the stairs saves me from replying, "Adam! Language!" Susannah walks up the stairs, a laundry basket in hand. She walks over to us.

"Sorry, mom," Adam says, quickly, "Are you seriously letting Maddy out dressed like that?"

Susannah glances at me, then narrows her eyes at Adam, "Why wouldn't I?"

Adam's jaw drops, "You're kidding, right? She looks like a two-dollar whore?"

"Right here folks," I say, backing away from Adam and leaning against the door frame.

Susannah turns around, looking for other people. When she is sure no one is there, she sets the basket down and turns to Adam. Hand on her hip.

"Adam," She says, "Maddy's outfit is meant to draw attention. We haven't had any luck this month and we figured that trying this might help us find the target,"

Adam stares at her in outrage, "You're letting her parade around like that for the target! Mom, that's ridiculous! Why would that even work?"

I snort, "It worked on you,"

Adam turns red.

Susannah laughs, "She's right, Adam. Like it or not guys pay attention to that,"

Adam stands there, face red, he opens his mouth to make a point then thinks better of it.

She turns to me, "Are you ready to go?"

I nod, Susannah turns away from her laundry basket, "Why don't you finish folding those, Adam?"

Adam nods, meekly. He grabs the basket and disappears into his room.

"Ok," Susannah says, kindly, "Let's go. You have a target to catch!"

...

The car pulls up to the latest YMCA. I breathe in, forcing the mask of a confident, bubbly girl onto my face.

"Relax, Maddy. You'll find him, if not here then somewhere else," Her smile is reassuring.

"Ok," I say simply. _I'll find him, I have to._

Susannah grabs something from the car console, she hands me a slip of paper, "Here's your membership information. If they ask, your name is Maddy Andrews. I'll be back in an hour and a half hour to pick you up. If nothing's there, you can go to the coffee shop down the block," She hands me a ten dollar bill, "Good luck!"

"Thanks!" I say opening the door and stepping out into the cool Chicago afternoon.

...

Twenty minutes later I knew the basic layout of the Y. Something that Susannah strongly encouraged me to do every time I was in a new place. There was a pool, rock climbing area, and small gym. At first glance, there was no one of interest, however, I refuse to write anything off yet.

I decide to start my more in-depth search in the rock climbing area. _Dad used to take me rock climbing when I was little. I loved it so much..._ I shake my head, forcing those thoughts out of my head.

I scan the room, looking for people of interest. The only person younger than thirty is on the auto-belay. I walk over, waiting for the man on the auto-belay to be done. If I climb, I should be able to get a better vantage point.

The man on the auto-belay grabs for a small yellow hold. I furrow my brow, _why wouldn't he go for the larger red one?_ My curiosity is heightened by the fact that his feet are only on the smallest, most unstable holds. _Wow, he must be good._ I watch him, drinking in his skill, target completely forgotten.

The next small hold is about a foot above him. Way out of reach. The man looks down, trying to find someway to get his arm within reach of the next hold. I scan the wall looking for a hold he can use. _There!_ A circular blue hold about the size of a kiwi is above his right knee.

"Try that blue hold by your knee!" I yell.

The man turns around. He smiles a handsome smile at me. His eyes run over my body, making me feel more naked than I already do. I smile confidently at him. Ignoring the feeling of his eyes running up my legs.

The man turns away from me, eyes focused on the wall. I expect him to use the blue hold, but instead, he _jumps! Jumps_ to grab his next hold. He scales the remaining twenty feet of the fifty-foot wall in seconds! I gasp watching his form, he's like a spider monkey! It's amazing.

The bell at the top of the wall is about two feet away from his outstretched fingers. He turns away from the wall and smiles at me. He bends his knees at springs upward. His hand misses the top of the wall be mere inches. He falls, limbs flailing for a hold.

I smile, waiting for the auto-belay to lower so I can introduce myself. Maybe he can give me some pointers on technique.

The man grabs a hold on the wall about halfway down and attempts to pull himself. _Is he really going to try to climb up?_ His arms shake and his shirt is soaked with sweat. But he holds on with determination. Walking his legs up the wall in an inhuman way. I watch intently. Amazed at his skill.

He reaches for a small hold above his head, his arm barely getting a grip on the small hold. I can see how tired he is.

"Come on! You're almost there, keep going!" I yell like a cheerleader.

He doesn't look at me to acknowledge he heard me, but I swear his grip tightened. He moved up the wall, slowly at first, then faster.

I continued to cheer him on, amazed at his recovery.

The man quickly scaled the wall face and soon he was at the top. He triumphantly rang the bell. He lets go of the wall, letting the auto-belay catch him and lower him to the ground.

His feet hit the ground and I finally get a good look at him. And _h_ _oly hot_ _jalapeños!_ On the wall when I had only seen him from behind and afar, I had placed him to be maybe in his early twenties. Way too old for me. But now, up close I can see that he can't be much older than me. And what a relief that is, this man is gorgeous. His hair is a wavy shoulder-length black. His eyes are the deepest icy blue I've ever seen. They're beautiful, constantly swirling with flecks of navy and gold. His lips are a pale pink, beyond them, I see white teeth. His body is lean, strong and muscular. He's just... _perfect._ Too perfect to be standing in front of someone like me.

His eyes run over me again, and he looks equally surprised. His eyes meet mine and it takes everything in me to stand up straight. My knees are practically butter. _Pull yourself together, Mads. Figure it out. Talk to the_ _über hot guy in front of you._

The man grins, turning around to unclip the auto-belay from his harness. He clips it to the wall while I try and fail not to notice the muscles in his back.

He turns, and sticks his hand out, "I know I'm a sight to behold and all, but maybe you'd like to introduce yourself?" His voice is deep and sarcastic.

I resist the urge to blush, the old Maddy would have blushed. But not me, I extend my hand and shake his, "I'm Maddy. You were awesome up there! How did you do that?"

His eyes brighten as his hand takes mine. His skin is inhumanly warm against mine, "I'm Stanley Worthington. And, well, it's a hobby of mine. I love climbing," He pulls his hand away way too soon for my liking, "I don't normally fall. It's just hard to concentrate with the most beautiful girl in the gym staring at you,"

I smile, feeling warm inside. I turn around and glance at the mostly empty gym, with a raised eyebrow I turn to Stanley, "I'm the _only_ girl in the gym,"

He glances around as well, "So it appears," He says with a smile.

Silence that should be awkward overcomes us, surprisingly it's not. I stare into his eyes and he stares into mine.

"Hey, lovebirds! The gym's closing!" An annoyed male voice yells. We turn, synchronized towards the door. The man at the door rolls his eyes, "Today please!"

We jog over to the man. Stanley hands him his harness, then walks out of the climbing area. I follow him to the lobby.

Once we are in the lobby Stanley turns to me, hope barely concealed in his eyes, "Do you want to get some coffee or something? I'd love to talk about climbing."

I glance down at my blue Timex watch. Susannah should be here to pick me up in one hour.

"Sure," I say, trying to hide my giddiness from him.

Stanley smiles, a truly beautiful sight to behold.

"I think there's one down the street," He says.

I nod, "Yeah. It's a Starbucks," I say, dumbly. I curse myself for the stupid remark.

Stanley doesn't care, he grabs my hand, warmth erupts where his flesh touches mine.

We walk outside, hand in hand, it's like something out of a movie

We're halfway across the street when a man in a dark SUV stops in front of us, effectively cutting us off.

My arms tingle, and my body locks; completely on guard.

I glance at Stanley, he only looks mildly annoyed as the man rolls his window down and a man with dark hair and a thick beard is revealed. He wears sunglasses to cover his eyes.

I narrow my eyes at him.

"Stanley, we need to go! Major problem with the cat!" _Cat? What does that even mean?_ The man's voice is low and with the sunglasses, I can't get a good read on him.

Stanley turns to me, a forced smile on his face, "Maddy, this is my Uncle Sandor. Uncle Sandor this Maddy, _we were about to get coffee,"_ Stanley's uncle glances at me with minimal interest. Clearly, our coffee date- _was it a date?_ -meant nothing to him.

"Nice to meet you, Maddy. As I said earlier, we _really_ need to go Stanley. Like now," Sandor's tone makes it clear that the request is non-negotiable.

Stanley glares at him then turns to me. He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes, "Maddy, I am so sorry. Can we reschedule our coffee date for some other time?" His eyes are hopeful.

"It's ok," I say with a bubbly grin.

Stanley sighs, looks around frantically, the leans in and kisses me on the lips. His mouth is hot and sweet against mine, leaving me disappointed when he finally pulls away.

He pulls away leaving me speechless, not to mention breathless.

We're both smiling ear to ear, Sandor groans, interrupting our moment.

Stanley glares at him, glanced at me one more time then walks over to the car. He opens the passenger door, then steps inside. Sandor tries to pull the car away but is stopped by Stanley throwing me a pen. I catch the pen with ease.

"Wait!" Stanley says, "Can I have your number so we can reschedule?"

Sandor is practically foaming at the mouth, "Stanley," He hisses, "We need to go,"

Stanley ignores him and holds out his arm for me to write my number, I don't have a phone of my own so I'll have to write the number of my computer. Somehow I doubt Susannah would be happy if she found out I was giving teenage boys our house number.

I write quickly and even add a smiley face at the end of my name. Sandor impatiently taps his hand on the steering wheel, waiting for the second I hand the pen back to Stanley. Sparks erupt as my hand returns the pen back to Stanley.

Stanley smiles at me one final time, then Sandor pulls the car away and they are lost to the busy streets of Chicago.

...

I sat at a lone table in the Starbucks, sipping an 'Iced Passion Tea' and staring into space. My mind replaced each detail of my kiss with Stanley. I had never been the type to turn all girly and pathetic over a guy, yet here I was, goofy smile on my face as I stared at nothing.

I decided to let myself be this girl until Susannah got here, then things would go back to normal. Because it's not like Stanley would call me. Kisses mean nothing to guys like him, no matter how passionate. I've seen his type, they're popular and arrogant and way out of my league. Then again, I'm not who I was three months ago. To him, I was a female version of him. _Still, I doubt he'll call..._

My mind circles from believing that he'll call and that he's totally into me, to believing that he saw right through my confident façade. I went round and round on that until I saw Susannah's Jeep outside.

I exited the coffee shop, straightening my ponytail as I walked. _Ok, Mads. Time to go back to who you were before Stanley Worthington stepped into your life._

Susannah smiled as I stepped into the Jeep and handed her the 'Pumpkin Spice Latte' I had gotten for her. She grabbed it, then thanked me as she pulled the car away from the Starbucks.

"So, how did it go? Did you find anyone?" Susannah asked as she sipped her latte.

 _Oh, fudge!_ I had gotten so caught up in Stanley that I had forgotten about looking for the target.

My mind scrambles for an excuse. Somehow I doubt Susannah would approve of my blowing off my assignment to hang out with a guy.

"I looked around for a little while and didn't see anyone of particular interest. Then I spent some time in the rock climbing area, I didn't think you'd care if I practiced," Ok, maybe it's not the _whole_ truth. But it's better than a flat out lie, given that the Mogs can hack into a street camera anytime they choose. If I'm questioned later I'll just say I didn't think my encounter with Stanley was worth mentioning.

Susannah looks up from the road, brow furrowed, "Why would I care? If you want to train after you do your job then I think it's great your taking an initiative to train on your own. Keep up the good work,"

"Thanks," I say, not betraying the guilt that's gnawing at my insides.

Susannah nods her head in response, "You're welcome," She smiles, eyes locked on the road, "So what's the deal with this bet I've heard you and Adam talking about?"

I blush crimson, "Adam and I made a bet on whether or not I could find the target in a month. Tomorrow is my last day."

Susannah chuckles, "And if you win?"

"If I win," I pause to take a breath, "Adam is my personal servant for a week," I manage to say the sentence without the innuendo that Adam had laced it with.

Susannah raises an eyebrow, head still facing forward, "And if you lose?"

I groan at the thought of the concert, "I have to take Kelly to the Justin Bieber concert on Saturday,"

She snorts, "Better you than me," Susannah pauses, tapping her left foot against the ground the way she does when she's considering something, "We got some information on the target that may help you tomorrow,"

Tomorrow was the masquerade dance that the school put on every fall. According to Adam, it was open to as many people that could cram into the gym, whether they went to the school or not, so there was a decent chance the target would be there.

My ears perked up in interest, "What?"

Susannah smiles, clearly amused with my response, "His name,"

I crank my neck in, excited to hear this new piece of information.

"is Stanley Worthington."

 **Drama! Total cliffhanger, which I'm getting good at. The new chapter should be out by Sunday, if not sorry. My schedule has cleared up a lot, so y'alls can expect updates once or twice a week from now on. Yay! Review with pairing suggestions (Maddy/Adam or Maddy/Nine). The new Storm of Ice update should be up by Saturday.**

 **Until then,**

 **Review, Follow, and favorite,**

 **Nine's Secret**


End file.
